I try to always have a couple articles scheduled, which takes the pressure off, I don't have to "produce something right now". When I feel really in a slump, just stepping away seems to help as well, doing something else, like going for a walk, or having a fun day with friends, and then all of a sudden I'll get an idea and I'm good to go again
I definitely have ebbs and flows. I suspect all writers do. The biggest loss of writing mojo came when I found I was pregnant - all my energy was then going into growing a baby and I was too excited, scared and restless to write on top of the full time job I had. I also had this romantic notion that I would write once the baby arrived out in cafes while she slept in the buggy etc! Ha! Little did I know what lay ahead - as I lost my partner to a motorbike crash 18 days before she arrived - my brain was then filled with so many other emotions that writing anything coherent was impossible.
Now my main issue is other stuff getting in the way of my writing time!!
Your tips are spot on though. Changing it up, getting out for a walk, reading or generally doing something creative all help me. 💚
Yes, I have definitely lost my writing mojo at times! This week has been discouraging around writing and I have felt like giving up. I appreciate how caring and supportive you are. And the reminders to be gentle with ourselves.
I hope you feel better soon! I wish our mind didn’t play tricks with us, but I guess that’s part of the human experience and it reminds us that we aren’t robots. 😅
Yes, it's like "Now where did I put that....? Forgetting where I left something and trying to retrace my steps to find it. Or did I lose it and need a "new" whatever it was....a pocket knife for example. I wrote about that here: https://garygruber.substack.com/p/small-object-big-loss. Lessons learned in losing.....
You could say I lost my writing mojo when I celebrated my first year of writing. It's like after I saw that I could do it, I lost interest in it, although I still enjoy it.
One reason I think this happened is because I don't have yet a clear vision. However, I now have a sense of some sort of direction.
Do you find that the mojo also gets lost if you don’t grow or get seen as much as you’d hope?
Especially if a few pieces do well and so that is now the benchmark that all other pieces get measured against.
It’s something I need to resist often, so I was just curious if it’s something that might be a struggle for you, since it’s hard to get feedback on what resonates and therefore hard to narrow down what to write on.
Hey Mika, although I want to write because it helps me personally, I do get positive emotions (and dopamine) when I get a like or a comment.
And, indeed, it is a little bit discouraging when I don't get any kind of engagement, especially, as you said, after a couple of pieces do well — the benchmark. This usually happens when I don't publish weekly or if I take a longer break as I took after my 1st year when all metrics went down.
What I do not to get negatively overwhelmed is to always get back to my "Why I'm doing this" and remind myself that this is a journey and a self-discovery process.
But my biggest challenge for maintaining my writing mojo is to give it the right purpose, although now I have an idea of the direction. I understand that I have to continue writing to better understand myself.
I would add to this that there is a little bit of conflict in me regarding the things I want to write about: focus on software engineering and help programmers build a better life for themselves, continue a broad focus on self-development, grow my love for photography, build a business around goal achieving, etc.
Since all these are in conflict, I have to take one-by-one and focus on each of them a longer period of time to see what I can make out of them. The first on my list is photography.
Great advice Mika. I kind of love that my writing mojo going AWOL sparked this post.
I can report that it has partially returned, but I'm trying to go easy on myself and especially with the self-inflicted deadlines to get newsletters published on specific days. As you say, learning to be flexible with deadlines is important. I never ever notice when a newsletter I'm subscribed to posts on a different day. I have no idea what other people's schedules are, so I try to remember that when stressing about getting my own published.
I've also just launched a newsletter (via my website, not on Substack) for my Interior Design studio which I want to try to write weekly. I'm realising that I need to take a step back and reassess what is realistic for me right now, because I can't do everything!
I'm off to read through the comments here to get some more inspiration!
Thanks for stopping by and for writing the Note that inspired me!
It was huge ah-ha moment when I realised I didn’t need to keep to a rigid schedule. I would rather write quality writing than to force myself to write when my heart isn’t in it. Then it feels like I’m pumping out content for the sake of it, rather than writing from my heart.
Good luck with your interior design newsletter. Do you think it could work monthly? It might be fun to add things to during the month and then you have most of the content there when the month is up. It might also help with people unsubscribing. I’m not a newsletter expert, so take that advice with a grain of salt. I just know that it’s been a fun way to do my Substack Diaries. I had a good doc that I just add to throughout the month.
Yes, this could be a good option. I’m following some advice from a marketing expert who has suggested weekly but let’s see how it goes and how sustainable it is. I’m considering dropping down to one Substack post per week. I’ve always written two but I don’t think I can manage three a week! It’s all an experiment but the mojo does seem to be coming back at least.
I'm not sure why I set myself that challenge at the beginning 😅 probably a bit silly, but mostly I can do it and enjoy it. And when it feels too much I just send one and I don't think anyone really cares or notices 🤣
I used to have a lot more time to read newsletters. I have had to carve more time out for it and I just love it so much! The writing out there is so great and I get so much inspiration from it!
Reading has definitely helped me. I found myself regularly reaching for books when I was struggling to write. It was a welcome distraction to inhabit someone else's world!
Oh yes! I can relate to this - and I've blogged about it twice over the years (here's one if you're interested from those long covid days.... https://www.crestingthehill.com.au/2020/05/has-covid-19-killed-my-blogging-mojo.html). It's a weird feeling when it seems like the blogging well is dry and that maybe it'll never re-fill. I liked your suggestions - sometimes it just takes a fresh outlook, or reading something somewhere, and off we go again. I love it when the flow reappears without being forced.
Have you always blogged every week? What do you do to keep the creative juices flowing. I will check out your blog post, because it might have the answers in there?
When I started I blogged 3X a week (beats me how!) and then it reduced slowly down to once a week for the last few years. I find a change in life events, or a book, or a podcast, or a quote will often get me thinking....and from there out pops a blog post or two. I also tend to write a couple of weeks ahead of when I publish so I don't feel pressure to throw something together for the sake of a deadline - and I also don't take myself so seriously that I think the world will end if I don't publish something every week :D
Thank you Mika, I am glad my note hit a soft spot & resonated. You might be glad to hear that I also recently bobbed my head to Billie’s song while thinking of a specific paragraph I was editing in a café where I landed between meetings. Very much enjoyed reading your post
I look forward to hearing about the different places you decide to try!
When I was trying to get into a consistent writing practice, I booked out a room at our local community centre and that really helped me take my writing seriously. 😊
Beautiful and reassuring words Mika. I lost my writing mojo a little in the last few months. It's starting to come back now, but I found it helpful to let myself take my foot off the gas for a bit, trusting it would return (it did!). I also find it helpful to have a few draft posts in the archives which take the pressure off having to come up with something new if nothing is coming. But above all, I love your words 'be kind to yourself' 💙
I'm so glad your writing mojo has come back! If we look at "taking a foot off the gas" as a human experience, rather than failure, there would be a lot more happier people in the world! Unfortunately, sometimes we don't do this until we are forced to, like a loss of job or health crisis.
This happens to me at least every two weeks. As an athlete, I know that as you said, we go through ebbs and flows. Sometimes things are going great; sometimes we need to take a step back and recalibrate. Thanks for this post!
I love how you've been able to see the ebb and flow as an athlete. I think the messaging often feels like there is push towards "grinding" and in order to be successful you have to be consistent above everything else. I think that kind of intensity definitely helps people achieve their goals (I'm thinking olympians and entrepreneurs), but often their is a cost.
I think for our creative journey and our health journey, we can be a lot more gentler on ourselves. 😊
I try to always have a couple articles scheduled, which takes the pressure off, I don't have to "produce something right now". When I feel really in a slump, just stepping away seems to help as well, doing something else, like going for a walk, or having a fun day with friends, and then all of a sudden I'll get an idea and I'm good to go again
I love when the mojo returns and you can bang out all the thoughts in your head! It’s the best!
Sounds like you have a good system. ☺️
I definitely have ebbs and flows. I suspect all writers do. The biggest loss of writing mojo came when I found I was pregnant - all my energy was then going into growing a baby and I was too excited, scared and restless to write on top of the full time job I had. I also had this romantic notion that I would write once the baby arrived out in cafes while she slept in the buggy etc! Ha! Little did I know what lay ahead - as I lost my partner to a motorbike crash 18 days before she arrived - my brain was then filled with so many other emotions that writing anything coherent was impossible.
Now my main issue is other stuff getting in the way of my writing time!!
Your tips are spot on though. Changing it up, getting out for a walk, reading or generally doing something creative all help me. 💚
I’m sure you were in survival mode and rightly so. 💕
I’m glad you’ve started writing again!
Me too 💚
Yes, I have definitely lost my writing mojo at times! This week has been discouraging around writing and I have felt like giving up. I appreciate how caring and supportive you are. And the reminders to be gentle with ourselves.
I hope you feel better soon! I wish our mind didn’t play tricks with us, but I guess that’s part of the human experience and it reminds us that we aren’t robots. 😅
Thanks Mika!
Yes, it's like "Now where did I put that....? Forgetting where I left something and trying to retrace my steps to find it. Or did I lose it and need a "new" whatever it was....a pocket knife for example. I wrote about that here: https://garygruber.substack.com/p/small-object-big-loss. Lessons learned in losing.....
I can definitely relate to retracing my steps to find it! Haha
Sometimes it just needs to be lost for a time while we take care of ourselves or get our creative wells filled up again.
Great tips, so thank you, Mika. 😊
You could say I lost my writing mojo when I celebrated my first year of writing. It's like after I saw that I could do it, I lost interest in it, although I still enjoy it.
One reason I think this happened is because I don't have yet a clear vision. However, I now have a sense of some sort of direction.
Hi Alex! Lovely to hear from you.
Do you find that the mojo also gets lost if you don’t grow or get seen as much as you’d hope?
Especially if a few pieces do well and so that is now the benchmark that all other pieces get measured against.
It’s something I need to resist often, so I was just curious if it’s something that might be a struggle for you, since it’s hard to get feedback on what resonates and therefore hard to narrow down what to write on.
Hey Mika, although I want to write because it helps me personally, I do get positive emotions (and dopamine) when I get a like or a comment.
And, indeed, it is a little bit discouraging when I don't get any kind of engagement, especially, as you said, after a couple of pieces do well — the benchmark. This usually happens when I don't publish weekly or if I take a longer break as I took after my 1st year when all metrics went down.
What I do not to get negatively overwhelmed is to always get back to my "Why I'm doing this" and remind myself that this is a journey and a self-discovery process.
But my biggest challenge for maintaining my writing mojo is to give it the right purpose, although now I have an idea of the direction. I understand that I have to continue writing to better understand myself.
I would add to this that there is a little bit of conflict in me regarding the things I want to write about: focus on software engineering and help programmers build a better life for themselves, continue a broad focus on self-development, grow my love for photography, build a business around goal achieving, etc.
Since all these are in conflict, I have to take one-by-one and focus on each of them a longer period of time to see what I can make out of them. The first on my list is photography.
Great advice Mika. I kind of love that my writing mojo going AWOL sparked this post.
I can report that it has partially returned, but I'm trying to go easy on myself and especially with the self-inflicted deadlines to get newsletters published on specific days. As you say, learning to be flexible with deadlines is important. I never ever notice when a newsletter I'm subscribed to posts on a different day. I have no idea what other people's schedules are, so I try to remember that when stressing about getting my own published.
I've also just launched a newsletter (via my website, not on Substack) for my Interior Design studio which I want to try to write weekly. I'm realising that I need to take a step back and reassess what is realistic for me right now, because I can't do everything!
I'm off to read through the comments here to get some more inspiration!
Thanks Mika 😊
Thanks for stopping by and for writing the Note that inspired me!
It was huge ah-ha moment when I realised I didn’t need to keep to a rigid schedule. I would rather write quality writing than to force myself to write when my heart isn’t in it. Then it feels like I’m pumping out content for the sake of it, rather than writing from my heart.
Good luck with your interior design newsletter. Do you think it could work monthly? It might be fun to add things to during the month and then you have most of the content there when the month is up. It might also help with people unsubscribing. I’m not a newsletter expert, so take that advice with a grain of salt. I just know that it’s been a fun way to do my Substack Diaries. I had a good doc that I just add to throughout the month.
Yes, this could be a good option. I’m following some advice from a marketing expert who has suggested weekly but let’s see how it goes and how sustainable it is. I’m considering dropping down to one Substack post per week. I’ve always written two but I don’t think I can manage three a week! It’s all an experiment but the mojo does seem to be coming back at least.
Good on you for doing two posts per week. I thought I could do that when I first started, but quickly realised I couldn’t keep it up. 😆
I'm not sure why I set myself that challenge at the beginning 😅 probably a bit silly, but mostly I can do it and enjoy it. And when it feels too much I just send one and I don't think anyone really cares or notices 🤣
Reading other people always works for me! It's hard not to be inspired by so much writing out there, xo
I used to have a lot more time to read newsletters. I have had to carve more time out for it and I just love it so much! The writing out there is so great and I get so much inspiration from it!
Reading has definitely helped me. I found myself regularly reaching for books when I was struggling to write. It was a welcome distraction to inhabit someone else's world!
You should be a life coach, Mika! 💕 I have definitely lost my mojo from time to time and I attribute that to extreme stress. (At
Least for myself) I am learning to accept that I cannot perform with my writing all the time and that’s okay. The writing will always come back.
I feel this Mica. We can't do everything all of the time, right?
Exactly! We put so much pressure on ourselves.
Awww, you're so sweet. They are all words I need to tell myself from time to time.
Yes, the writing does always come back. It can sometimes feel as if it will never come back, but it always does. xx
Oh yes! I can relate to this - and I've blogged about it twice over the years (here's one if you're interested from those long covid days.... https://www.crestingthehill.com.au/2020/05/has-covid-19-killed-my-blogging-mojo.html). It's a weird feeling when it seems like the blogging well is dry and that maybe it'll never re-fill. I liked your suggestions - sometimes it just takes a fresh outlook, or reading something somewhere, and off we go again. I love it when the flow reappears without being forced.
Have you always blogged every week? What do you do to keep the creative juices flowing. I will check out your blog post, because it might have the answers in there?
When I started I blogged 3X a week (beats me how!) and then it reduced slowly down to once a week for the last few years. I find a change in life events, or a book, or a podcast, or a quote will often get me thinking....and from there out pops a blog post or two. I also tend to write a couple of weeks ahead of when I publish so I don't feel pressure to throw something together for the sake of a deadline - and I also don't take myself so seriously that I think the world will end if I don't publish something every week :D
Wow three times a week!
Thank you Mika, I am glad my note hit a soft spot & resonated. You might be glad to hear that I also recently bobbed my head to Billie’s song while thinking of a specific paragraph I was editing in a café where I landed between meetings. Very much enjoyed reading your post
Oooo I love the serendipity! ✨
Thank you for stopping by and for inspiring this piece!
Great ideas! I could use a shift and try something new as in a different writing scene. That would take me out of my comfort zone too. 🙌
I look forward to hearing about the different places you decide to try!
When I was trying to get into a consistent writing practice, I booked out a room at our local community centre and that really helped me take my writing seriously. 😊
Beautiful and reassuring words Mika. I lost my writing mojo a little in the last few months. It's starting to come back now, but I found it helpful to let myself take my foot off the gas for a bit, trusting it would return (it did!). I also find it helpful to have a few draft posts in the archives which take the pressure off having to come up with something new if nothing is coming. But above all, I love your words 'be kind to yourself' 💙
I'm so glad your writing mojo has come back! If we look at "taking a foot off the gas" as a human experience, rather than failure, there would be a lot more happier people in the world! Unfortunately, sometimes we don't do this until we are forced to, like a loss of job or health crisis.
This happens to me at least every two weeks. As an athlete, I know that as you said, we go through ebbs and flows. Sometimes things are going great; sometimes we need to take a step back and recalibrate. Thanks for this post!
I love how you've been able to see the ebb and flow as an athlete. I think the messaging often feels like there is push towards "grinding" and in order to be successful you have to be consistent above everything else. I think that kind of intensity definitely helps people achieve their goals (I'm thinking olympians and entrepreneurs), but often their is a cost.
I think for our creative journey and our health journey, we can be a lot more gentler on ourselves. 😊
Great 🤗🤗
Thanks for stopping by!